Wednesday, January 25, 2012

So many great hardcovers have just crossed over to paperback that I thought it would be fun to share some of the best. At about half the price of hardcovers, paperbacks are a bargain and they're also easier to hold up in bed!

Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool, Delacorte, $7.99, ages 9 and up, 368 pages. Twelve-year-old Abilene uncovers secrets about her father and the small town of Manifest, Kansas, after finding a hidden cigar box of mementos, in the 2011 Newbery Medal winner.

Turtle in Paradise, Jennifer L. Holm, Random House, $6.99, ages 8 and up, 208 pages. While staying with her rag-tag cousins in Key West, 11-year-old Turtle comes out of her shell and looks at the world in new and unexpected ways, in this 2011 Newbery Honor winner.

The Storm in the Barn, by Matt Phelan, Candlewick, $14.99, ages 10 and up, 208 pages. Eleven-year-old Jack saves his family farm from ruin when he confronts the Storm King and makes him let go of the rain, in this wonderful graphic novel set in the Dust Bowl era of 1930s.

The Crowfield Curse, by Pat Walsh, The Chicken House, ages 11-13, 352 pages. A 14-year-old servant boy discovers a terrible curse that could ruin his abbey and doom a stricken man to an eternity of torment, in this atmospheric debut. Now out in hardback, the sequel The Crowfield Demon.

Little Panda, by Renata Liwska, Sandpiper, $5.99, ages 4 and up, 32 pages. A grandfather panda tells his grandson a story of a little panda who caused a stalking tiger to fly off a tree, in this charming debut by the illustrator of the best-selling The Quiet Book.

Zora and Me, by Victoria Bond and T. R. Simon, Candlewick, $6.99, ages 10 and up, 192 pages. Zora's wild tales take on a life of their own, and jeopardize the peace and security of her racially divided town, in this wry, fictionalized account of novelist Zora Neale Hurston's life from fourth grade to sixth.

The Night Fairy, by Laura Amy Schlitz, illustrated by Angela Barrett, Candlewick, $6.99, ages 9-12, 128 pages. A feisty young fairy loses her wings and tries to coax other creatures to carry her on their backs, in this delightful tale by a Newbery Medal winner.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

1. If I Never Forever Endeavor, by Holly Meade, Candlewick, $15.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A baby bird must decide whether to take a chance and try to fly, in this beautiful poem about daring to put yourself out there and risk failure. "If in all of forever, / I never endeavor / to fly, I won't know if I can." Meade writes, as a yellow fledgling timidly looks out from his nest. Then, turning the page, "I won't know if I can't. / I won't know / if or whether / a flight I / might fly, / should I choose / to not ever give it a try." Meade's words settle in your mind and without even thinking, you find yourself reciting the verses silently in your head, and feeling emboldened to get out there and try something new.

2. Migrant, by Maxine Trottier, pictures by Isabelle Arsenault, Groundwood, $18.95, ages 4-7, 40 pages. A Mennonite girl from Mexico dreams of living in one place, as her family migrates north to work as seasonal farm laborers. While they harvest tomatoes in Canada, the girl, Anna, compares what she sees, hears and feels to the way other living things exist. In migrant housing, she's a jack rabbit in an abandoned burrow. When she hears languages she doesn't understand, it's as if "a thousand crickets are all singing a different song." Later as her family prepares to return to Mexico, Anna is a tree, sinking roots into the ground as geese fly south without her. This is a wondrous book about yearning for a place to call your own -- that inspires understanding and casts stereotypes to the wind.

3. Fox and Hen Together and Rooster's Revenge, by Beatrice Rodriguez, Enchanted Lion, ages 4-8, 32 pages. These two followups to last year's The Chicken Thief were equally brilliant, so they appear here together. Both are wordless, yet you barely notice because the humor is so cleverly played out. In the first followup, Hen goes off to fish for dinner and finds herself in an all-out battle
to hold onto the fish she's caught. Back home, Fox is left guarding
their egg, but aren't foxes notorious for raiding chicken coops? In the second book, Rooster, Bear and Rabbit run aground by a cave, where Rooster finds a big, glowing egg. As you may know, Rooster was jilted by Hen for Fox in the first book, and in book 3, he's still pretty soured by it. Could this be just the thing to mend his wild heart?

4. I Want My Hat Back!, by Jon Klassen, Candlewick, $15.99, ages 4-8,
40 pages. Bear may be gullible, but no one messes with his hat, in this comic gem about two silly and devious animals. When Bear goes in search of his missing hat, he happens upon
a rabbit with a hat just like his: it's red and pointy, and sits on the head like a party hat. But Rabbit is indignant and denies that he knows anything about it. And Bear? Well, he's so credulous that he doesn't give the similarities between the hats another thought. It isn't until later, after he continues to ask around about his hat, that Bear meets a deer who jogs his memory (and knocks a bit of sense into him). Now Bear has his hat back, but Rabbit has gone missing, and Bear is acting overly defensive about where he might be. Humor plays out with marvelous subtlety, as two silly animals try to be sly, but are hopelessly transparent.

5. The House Baba Built: An Artist's Childhood in China, by Ed
Young, Little, Brown and Company, $17.99, ages 4 and up, 48 pages. As a child
in Shanghai in the 1930s, illustrator Ed Young insulates himself from war in a house where exploration and the imagination run free, in this stunning autobiographical book. Young, the Caldecott-winning illustrator of Lon Po Po, uses collages, photographs, silhouettes and drawings to wondrous effect: they capture both the austerity and uncertainty of the times and his feelings of joy and security. On one spread, his art has a haunting quality, and you get the sensation that you're flipping through a very old and fading scrapbook. On another, you see silhouettes of children leaping about the page as if they hadn't a care. Young created a world of wonder and security from the ordinary things around him. A rocking chair became a horse, and an empty pool a place to ride scooters. He made origami houses for silkworms, drew pictures in his textbooks, and roller-skated on the roof of his house. During air raids, he and his family, and the strangers who took refuge with them, huddled in the hallway, the safest part of the house, and told stories that transported them away from the dangers outside. There in the house that his father Baba built, Young knew nothing bad could ever get to him.

6. The Scar, by Charlotte Moundlic, illustrated by Olivier Tallec, Candlewick, $14.99, ages 5 and up, 32 pages. A little boy desperately tries to hold onto traces of his mother just days after her death, in a picture book that tugs at the heart, then makes it glow. Her death leaves him angry and hollow, and he worries he'll forget her. He refuses to open windows in his house for fear her smell will escape. Then he falls and scrapes his knee, and hears words his mother used to say to comfort him. "It's just a scratch, my little man," she'd say. "You're too strong for anything to hurt you." The boy doesn't want the scar to heal because he's afraid her voice will go away. But then his grandma puts her hand on his heart, and tells him his mother is there and will never go away. The words ease his longing just enough to buoy his spirit. He races around the room so he can feel his mom beating hard in his chest, and soon, before he even notices, the scrape has turned into a scar. This is a beautiful book that expresses grief just as it is: raw and inescapable. Then it adds beautiful metaphors and a trickle of humor to show readers that even the worst hurt can heal.

7. Wake Up, Sloth!, paper engineering by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud, text by Sophie Strady, Roaring Brook,
$16.99, ages 4-8, 16 pages. A sloth dozes in a tree as his rainforest home is devoured by iron clawed machines. Will the sloth stir in time to get away? At first, the forest rises serenely, as birds trill back and forth. Then a menacing blade pops up, and animals and people begin to flee. In a few destructive runs, the forest is no more, and the last machine rolls over to the only tree that remains, where the sloth sleeps. "Wake up, sloth!" Strady calls out. "Run away! Run." Did she stir the sloth in time? Did he run? As
readers turn the page, only broken branches
remain; the land looks lifeless and sterile But wait, who is that? A lone man walks into the eerie quiet at the end of a pull tab with a bag of seeds. Could it be, all is not lost? As readers pull the tab, seedlings
spring from the soil, and there in the back, that brilliant, sleepy sloth
climbs a branch once again. Incredibly moving, the story rolls like a coaster to a terrible low then brings us racing back up, exhilarated with hope.

8. The Man on the Moon (The Guardians of Childhood), by William Joyce, Atheneum, $17.99, ages 4-8, 56 pages. A boy on the run from a nightmare king hides out on the moon and vows to guard Earth's children from bad dreams, in this magical new series by a treasured author-illustrator. The boy, MiM, has lost his parents and his devoted friend Nightlight in a battle with Pitch, the king, but he's not alone. Lunar robots, mice, worms and moths scoop him up and care for him as he grows. Life with them is sweet and for a time, being watched over is enough. Then one day, MiM peers through a telescope and sees children on Earth and feels the draw of friendship. But the children are far away and the years pass. Soon, MiM is a grown man. As balloons float up from Earth, MiM holds them to his ear, and hears the children's hopes and dreams. Yearning to answer them, he finds five guardians to watch over the children and summons lunar moths to transform his moon into a nightlight to chase away their nightmares.

9. Blowin' in the Wind, by Bob Dylan, illustrated by Jon J. Muth, with CD
of Dylan's original recording, Sterling, ages 5-8, 28 pages. A paper airplane blown by the
wind becomes a breathtaking metaphor for the role we all play in making a
better world, in this stunning visual accompaniment to Dylan's celebrated protest song. Four children of differing skin color are taken by skiff across expanses
of water and shown scenes that make them at turns reflective, sad,
uncomfortable, and ultimately, ready to face up to a difficult truth: That unjust things occur in the world and it is up to each of them to do something about them. On their journey, a paper plane glides overhead and guides their way to understanding. To read my full review, click here.

10. Ladder to the Moon, Maya Soetoro-Ng, illustrated by Yuyi Morales,
Candlewick, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. One night a golden ladder
unrolls from the moon to Suhaila's window sill and her late grandmother climbs
down the rungs to show her how to make the world a little more kind, in this breathtaking book about the connectedness of one life to the next. Grandma Annie leads Suhaila up to the moon, where they drink moon dew from silver teacups, and guide children caught in natural disasters and a woman dying of old age skyward. Here on the moon, their spirits are at rest, and they join together in stories and songs of hope. But many prayers below on Earth still remain unanswered. Can all of those who've found their way to the moon now embolden those on Earth to heal their hurt and hardship? From Soetoro-Ng, sister of President Obama, comes a spellbinding folktale that reminds us that loved ones lost are never far from our hearts.

11. The Great Bear, by Libby Gleeson & Armin Greder,
Candlewick, $16.99, ages 5-10, 32 pages. Day after day a circus bear is
poked and prodded to dance on cue as trumpets, drums and cymbals build anticipation in a crowded square.
Then one night, the bear refuses to move. All of the pent-up sadness and anger, all of nights of taunting, overflow and he lets out a roar that sends handlers and villagers scattering for cover. Seeing a flagpole a few paces away, the bear lumbers over, climbs it paw over paw, then at the top, reaches his arms skyward and launches into a mythical place where no one can reach him. Gleeson and Greder tell a triumphant story of a
mistreated animal who takes back his dignity and gets free.

12. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, by Jerry Pinkney, Little, Brown and Company,
$16.99, ages 4 and up, 40 pages. A mischievous chipmunk sets sail in a
robin's nest across the night sky, only to tumble off his boat to Earth
and find comfort on the downy back of a swan, in this magical
interpretation of the beloved lullaby, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Pinkney reimagines this tender
song as an atmospheric story about a young animal working through his anxiety
of going to sleep. As the chipmunk embarks on his journey to slumber, which he unavoidably must travel alone, he is watched over by nature and
finds reassurance in its wild embrace.

13. Bee & Bird,
written and illustrated by Craig Frazier, Roaring Brook Press, $16.99, ages
2-6, 40 pages. A bee and bird travel on an epic journey from tree and
truck to boat and beehive, in this wordless book of exploration. Saturated colors and inventive perspectives give this simple premise the feeling of high adventure. View the book trailer below!

14. This Baby, by Kate Banks, pictures by Gabi Swiatkowska, Frances Foster Books,
$16.99, ages 3-6, 40 pages. A girl flutters about her mother asking questions about her unborn sibling, in this lyrical picture book that bubbles with the excitement of a new life. The girl wants answers that Mama can't yet give: Will the baby like stars, peek-a-boo, me? Mama listens patiently, knitting row after row of baby clothes. Even though she knows the answers will come in time, she doesn't quiet her daughter, but lets her say everything she needs to say. Swiatkowska's paintings beautifully capture the girl's anticipation and restlessness, while Banks' poem swirls around the page with a wonderful cadence. "This baby, a tiny bud of life nestled in a womb, kept and coveted like a tightly held secret," the poem reads, as the girl rests her head on Mama's tummy. "Will this baby like red boots? Knit, Mama,
knit / row after row. / The rain is tapping. / Soon. / We'll know."

15. The Conductor, by Laetitia Devernay, Chronicle, 2011, $18.95, ages 5-8, 72 pages. A
maestro stands on the top of a tree and conducts the leaves into a
melody of flying birds, in this wordless masterpiece by an award-winning
French artist. When the conductor lifts his wand, clusters of leaves flap like wings and sail off trees, leaving cookie-cutter shapes of themselves behind. Devernay creates music from silence with lyrical illustrations. Read a full review here.

16. Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's
Parade, by Melissa Sweet, Houghton Mifflin, $16.99, ages 4 and up, 40
pages. A man with a knack for making things move turns the concept of
marionettes upside down and creates one of the greatest parades on
Earth. Combining photos of homemade toys, buttons and more with
whimsical paintings, Sweet delivers a picture-perfect tribute to Tony
Sarg, the puppeteer behind Macy's balloons. Read a full review here.

17. Grandpa Green, by Lane Smith, Roaring Brook Press, $16.99, ages 5 and up, 32 pages. As Grandpa Green's memory fades, his grandson clomps happily through a garden where bushes are clipped into fantastical shapes, from giant carrots to exploding canons -- each preserving the most meaningful moments of his great-grandfather's life. Read a full review here.

18. Goodnight iPad, by Ann Droyd (David Milgrim), Blue Rider Press, $14.95, all ages, 30 pages. A grandmother solves her family's late-night obsession with gadgets by hurling all of their devices out the window, in this hysterical parody of Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, the best twist yet of this beloved classic. Read a full review here.

19. Squish Rabbit, by Katherine
Battersby, Viking, 2011, $12.99, ages 2 and up, 40 pages. A little bunny struggles to be noticed in a world much bigger than him, in this adorable
debut. Squish is tired of being overlooked and stepped on, and he longs for someone to play with. So he sews himself a friend and tries to befriend cherries on a tree. But none of these things can play back. Then, just as he loses hope, a friend bounds into his life and accepts him just as he is. Read a full review here.

20. The Little Red Pen, by Susan Stevens Crummel, illustrated by Janet Stevens, Harcourt,
$16.99, ages 6-12, 56 pages. An arsenal of desk supplies rescue a
correction pen from the dreaded "Pit of No Return," just in time to
correct a pile of papers and save the world, in this delightful spin on Little Red Hen. Read a full review here.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

1. Samantha on a Roll, by Linda Ashman, pictures by Christine Davenier, Margaret Ferguson, $16.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages. When Mama isn't looking, a little girl slips into her new roller skates and joyfully sails out the door. But as she crests a hill, she's going too fast to stop and careens through everything in her path.

2. Wolf Won't Bite, by Emily Gravett, Simon & Schuster,
$16.99, ages 2-6, 32 pages. Three circus pigs prod a big wolf to
perform silly acts and each time they foolishy sing out, "Wolf won't
bite!" But are they sure they want to put their heads between Wolf's mighty
jaws?

3. The Pied-Piper of Hamelin, retold by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 5 and up, 64 pages. When the mayor of Hamelin refuses to pay a magical flute player for ridding his town of rats, the pied-piper uses his magic to hide the town's children until the mayor agrees to clean up Hamelin.

4. Scritch-Scratch A Perfect Match, by Kimberly Marcus, illustrated by Mike Lester, G. P. Putnam Sons, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A flea chomps into the backside of a big, scruffy stray and causes him to lurch into the air and into the heart of an old man in this rollicking adventure.

5. E-Mergency, by Tom Lichtenheld and Ezra Fields-Meyer, illustrated by Lichtenfeld, Chronicle, $16.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages. A fall down the stairs puts letter "E" out of commission, but who will be able to replace her? O is well-rounded, albeit a bit busy, but the problem is everyone's having trouble understanding the words he's filling in on. It's time to get "E" out of bed, but first the ABCs are going to have to give the narrator a good talking to. A hilarious romp inspired by the short video Alphabet House by Ezra Fields-Meyer, a teenage animator diagnosed with high-functioning Autism.

6. The Really Awful Musicians, by John Manders, Clarion, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. After a king gets fed up with the discordant sounds of his royal band and bans music in his kingdom, a wise horse gives a brave little piper and a wagon-load of really awful musicians a lesson in playing harmoniously.

7. King Hugo's Huge Ego, by Chris Van Dusen, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 3-6, 40 pages. A boastful king is zapped with a curse that makes his head swell, but it isn't until his ears are curled back on themselves that he realizes how arrogant he's been.

8. Stuck, by Oliver Jeffers, Philomel, $16.99, ages 3-7, 32 pages.
When Floyd's kite gets stuck in a tree, he tosses everything including
the kitchen sink into the tree to try to knock it down. But his kite
won't budge and now all those things, his shoe, a duck, the milkman, even a firetruck, are stuck there too. Could a saw be just the thing he needs?

9. The Princess and the Pig, by Jonathon Emmett, illustrated by Poly Bernatene, Walker & Company, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A baby princess falls off a balcony and lands in a farmer's stall, causing a piglet there to bounce into the air and into the baby's cradle. The result is an uproarious mix-up that everyone in the story assumes was the work of fairies, because that's the sort of thing that happens in storybooks: a fairy casts a spell, turns a pig into a princess, or vice versa. But there are no fairies in this book and when pigs grow up and marry princes, kisses don't always fix things.

10. Zoozical,
by Judy Sierra, illustrated by Marc Brown, Alfred A. Knopf, $17.99,
ages 4-8, 40 pages. A very small hippo and a young kangaroo rouse their animal friends at the zoo from their winter doldrums with a song-and-dance extravaganza,
in this playful rhyme.

11. The Little Red Pen, by Susan Stevens Crummel, illustrated by Janet Stevens, Harcourt,
$16.99, ages 6-12, 56 pages. An arsenal of desk supplies rescue a
correction pen from the dreaded "Pit of No Return," just in time to
correct a pile of papers and save the world, in this delightful spin on Little Red Hen. (Also on my list of the 20 Best Picture Books of 2011.)

12. Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea, by Tony Johnston, illustrated by
Stacy Innerst, Harcourt, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. When miners
rushed to California to find gold, they ran so fast they lost their
pants. All that corduroy and wool disintegrated
right where they ran. That left the miners with nothing but skivvies
to chase away the cold, so they strapped on barrels and waddled about,
sluicing as best they could. Now those barrels were tough, but they just
wouldn't bend, and soon the miners weebled and wobbled and fell over.
Lucky thing, a fellow named Levi Strauss arrived out west as the miners were
rolling down the hill. Since Strauss was too late to get in on the gold,
he decided to earn his fortune making pants. Seeing how sturdy miners'
tents were, he stripped them down and stitched them
into the toughest pants around: known forever more as Levi denim jeans.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

1. Cloudette, written and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, Christy Ottaviano Books,
$16.99, ages 3 and up, 40 pages. A little cloud wishes she could do
big, important cloud things, like pour rain to make a water fall off a
cliff. So she floats off in search of greatness, only to discover that
she doesn't have to be a giant cloud to make a difference.

2. Hugs from Pearl, by Paul Schmid, Harper, 2011, $14.99, ages 3-7, 40 pages. Pearl the porcupine loves to hug, but her classmates get poked when she draws them in. So Pearl tries to soften her quills, only to find they're as prickly as ever. Could there be a way around these spiny hairs?

3. Mine!, by Shutta Crum, pictures by Patrice Barton, Alfred A. Knopf, $16.99, ages 1 and up, 32 pages. A toddler's emotions bubble over when her baby sister grabs her stuffed bunny and throws it across the room into the puppy bowl. But then the puppy pounces on it and shakes it wildly in his mouth, and even the toddler can't help but giggle. Soon the two little girls are piling all of big sister's toys into the dog bowl to see what happens, in this joyful book about learning to share.

4. Caveman: A B.C. Story, by Janee Trasler, Sterling, $14.95, ages 3-5, 32 pages. A shaggy caveman runs hurry-scurry across the page chasing things, being chased and freeing an ice-bound pet, in this hilarious spin on the ABCs. Single words for each letter of the alphabet guide this marvelously clever tale.

5. Fortune Cookies, by Albert Bitterman, art by Chris Raschka, Beach Lane Books, $14.99, ages 2-5, 28 pages. A box arrives with a week's supply of fortune cookies for a little girl, and each day a saying helps her see life from the sunny side, in this disarmingly sweet pull-tab book.

6. I Spy With My Little Eye, by Edward Gibbs, Templar, $14.99, ages 2-5, 32 pages. Creatures from whales to frogs peer with one eye through a porthole and give simple clues to who they are, in this charming book of cutouts.

8. Splish-Splash, by Nicola Smee, Boxer Books, $16.95, ages 2-5, 32 pages. Mr. Horse and his farmyard friends tumble out of a rowboat into the deep blue sea, but have so much fun riding back to shore on horse's back, they want to do it all over again.

9. Love Waves, by Rosemary Wells, Candlewick, $15.99, ages 3-7, 32 pages. Ribbons of love drift across the sky from Mommy and Daddy to Little
Bunny in this sweet, reassuring tale for any child who has to spend time away from a parent.

10. Your Moon, My Moon: A Grandmother's Words to a Faraway Child, by Patrician MacLachlan, illustrated by Bryan Collier, Simon & Schuster, ages 4-8, $16.99. As a grandmother flies half-way across the world to see her grandchild, she thinks of all the ways they're connected, including how they share the same moon.

2. Three By the Sea, by Mini Grey, Random House, $17.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. A fox tricks friends Dog, Cat and Mouse into turning against each other. But will they see through his game and realize they were happy just the way things were?

3. Neville, by Norman Juster, illustrated by G. Brian Karas, Schwartz & Wade, $17.99, ages 4 and up, 32 pages. A lonely boy in a new neighborhood calls out for his best friend Neville and is joined by other kids who help him to find what he misses.

4. A House in the Woods, by Inga Moore, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 3 and up, 48 pages. Two pigs return home to find their clumsy friends Moose and Bear have crushed their hut and den. But no worries, the four friends will ask the beavers to build them a house they can all live in together.

5. Friends: True Stories of Extraordinary Animal Friendships, by Catherine Thimmesh, Houghton Mifflin, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages. Unlikely animal friends find affection in this charming book of photographs and poems. In one spread, a macaque rests his head on the back of a pigeon, and in another a miniature pig nuzzles a camel.

6. Owly and Wormy: Friends All Aflutter, by Andy Runton, Atheneum, $15.99, ages 3-7, 40 pages. A little owl longs to play with butterflies, but then he meets two plump green bugs that make him forget that having friends with fancy wings was every important to him.

7. Hopper and Wilson, by Maria van Lieshout, Philomel, $16.99, ages 3-7, 40 pages. A blue elephant and yellow mouse set sail in a paper hat to see what's at the end of the world, only to discover that the best place of all is right where they started.

8. Freckleface Strawberry: Best Friends Forever, by Julianne Moore, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, Bloomsbury, $16.99, ages 4 and up, 40 pages. Freckleface did everything with Windy Pants Patrick until one day kids said they were too different to be friends. But does it really matter that you're different, if you're alike in ways that really count?

9. The Sniffles for Bear, by Bonny Becker, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 3-7, 32 pages. When Bear catches a cold, he doesn't take kindly to Mouse's cheerful efforts to make him good as new. He wants to wallow in his misery. But then Mouse starts sniffling too. Could caring for Mouse be just the cure Bear needs?

10. Making a Friend, by Allison McGhee, illustrations by Marc Rosenthal, Atheneum, $16.99, ages 3-7, 40 pages. A boy wonders where his snowman goes when the weather warms. He sees him in the rain of spring, but where is he in summer? In fall, he's in the fog of a hollow and the frost on a window pane. No matter what shape he takes, their friendship endures.

Book 3 in Sci-Fi Sensation

What I'm Reading!

Put on a Play!

UK Children's Laureate Julia Donaldson has created a website to help teachers make dramas out of picture books! Get tips on finding the right story, making sound effects & more! For details, click here. "Acting is very good for children's self-confidence and for stimulating their imaginations and for many, it can be a great root into books and reading," Donaldson says.

Google+ Followers

A Hero Returns!

While vacationing at the beach, a toy action figure and his loyal pet are mistaken for flotsam and carried off to a dolly's sand castle. Will the duo ever do valiant deeds again? Or will they play dress-up forever? Another hilarious adventure starring Traction Man and Scrubbing Brush by Mimi Grey. Alfred A. Knopf, $16.99.

Ocean Poetry

Read a Book. Give a Book.

Put a new book in the hands of child just by reading one! Go to We Give Books, select a children's book to read online, then choose a charity from the list provided. After you read, We Give Books will send the charity a book. It costs you nothing -- only the time it takes to read a book. The project, sponsored by The Pearson Foundation, Penguin and DK, so far has donated 934,682 books!

Celebrate Earth!

A new post every day to Earth Day, April 22..

Sun Valley Receives Novels!

This April, Where the Best Books Are!passed out 20 free copies of Orson Scott Card's award-winning Ender's Game in Colorado's poorest neighborhood as part of World Book Night. World Book Night is an annual worldwide event sponsored by book publishers and sellers, and is aimed at spreading the joy of reading among people who never read or rarely pick up a book. Where the Best Books Are! requested Sun Valley Youth Center as its giveaway location, and was one of tens of thousands of volunteers selected to pass out books.

For a Valentine

A small act of love blooms into a magical gift in this lovely collaboration by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Peter H. Reynolds. Harper, $14.99, all ages.

Read with Me!

A charming collection of stories about a plucky little girl and her best pal Bear. G.P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99, ages 3-5.

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For the Love of Books

Bookspeak!Poems about Books. Whimsical collages and type combine with clever rhymes in a wondrous ode to books. In one poem, a character pleads with readers to liberate him; in another, an Index competes with the book cover and Table of Contents for the reader's attention. Laura Purdie Salas (Stampede!) humanizes everything from the middle of story, as it laments that it never gets to go first, to a checked out library book that feels like it's gone on vacation. My favorite: "The Sky is Looming" about a book getting squashed by a head: "I'm buried under cheek and drool / and hair three inches deep. / My reader drifted close, then far, / then gently fell asleep..." Charmingly illustrated by Josee Bisaillon, Clarion, $16.99, ages 4-8, 32 pages.

News You Can Use!

Help Ringgold Reads restock their upper-grade libraries in Georgia after the devastating tornadoes of April 27. Buy a book or make a donation.

Help Uprise Books Project get challenged books into the hands of unprivileged teens. Join the Kickstarter campaign here.

Booktrack releases e-books with soundtracks to help boost readers' imagination and engagement. Watch a sample of The Ugly Ducklinghere.

Got a layover? You have to get this.

Bring along a glue stick and the wait will be bliss. Workman, $16.95, ages 7 and up.

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2011 School in Need

Where the Books Are!has adopted Fairview Elementary School as its first-ever "School in Need" for 2011. As extra books accumulate over the year from reviewing, I'll box them up and bring them over to help fill empty shelves in the school's library and classrooms. If you'd like to join me in helping this wonderful school, please send me a message here.

Quotes from Authors, Books and the Kids Who Love Them

"In my world, everyone's a pony and they all eat rainbows and poop butterflies." (Dr. Seuss)

"...Very often when crazy people are not actively being crazy, they are less crazy than regular people who are a little bit crazy at all times." (Big Audrey in Daniel Pinkwater's Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl)

"Grown-ups and ants are a lot alike. If they relaxed a little, they'd have a better time." (Bean in Annie Barrows's Ivy & Bean: What's the Big Idea?, Book 7)

"Wishes are slippery things. You have to be very specific or you can get exactly what you wished for and still end up with nothing."(Cynthia Lord's Touch Blue)

"Treat yourself with respect and ignore people who don't treat you with dignity."

(Grandma Penshine in Tracy Trivas's Wish Stealers)

"I will respect the tree and not throw away his pieces."

(Tate Miller, 6-year-old reader, on choosing to erase a misspelled word and correct it, rather than toss the paper and start over.)

"I can read in red. I can read in blue. I can read in pickle color too!"(from Dr. Seuss's I Can Read With My Eyes Shut)

"How do you catch sunbeams to make them work for you?"(from The Kids' Solar Energy Book by Tilly Spetgang and Malcolm Wells)

About Me

Need just the right book?

I'd like to help! Email me your questions and I'll select them to answer in this feature.

Q. I want my 6-year-old to get excited about reading but I'm having a hard time wading through all of the readers, knowing which ones are better than others. Are there some series you'd recommend more highly than others?

A. My three boys have been a great testing ground for early readers, and I can tell you from experience that the books that engaged them the most were funny in a way they could appreciate. Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie Books (Hyperion Books for Children) are brilliant. My youngest laughs out loud as he reads them and gets a charge out of saying sound words like "Oof!" that help break up the new words he's learning. We're also big fans of the Toon Books, including the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning Stinky. Published in a cartoon format, the books are funny, easy-to-read and wonderfully quirky. Other stellar books include Kate DiCamillo's Mercy Watson Books (Candlewick Press) and the hilarious new Max Spaniel series by David Catrow (Orchard Books).

Contact Me!

Tender Tribute to Sally Ride

Books Not to Miss.

Little Treasures, Endearments from Around the World. Children bat their lashes and giggle in delight, in this sweet ode to terms of affection by Jacqueline K. Ogburn. Illustrator Raschka captures the subtlety of a child's expression -- from a shy glance to a beguiling look -- all with loose, spare brush strokes. Houghton Mifflin, $16.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages.

I Don't Want to Be a Pea! Hugo the hippo wants to be a princess for the Fairy-Tale Fancy Dress Party and tells his best friend Bella the bird that she should be a pea. But that isn't fair. Bella doesn't want to be a little round vegetable, and in no time the two are storming off in opposite directions. Talk about two peas in a pod! Could it be that a few costume alterations could make them both happy? An adorable tale about compromise, written by Ann Bonwill and illustrated by Simon Rickerty. Atheneum, $14.99, ages 2-6, 32 pages.

Heart and Soul. Caldecott winner Kadir Nelson writes like a man who's weathered life and now sits on his porch recalling how things once were, in this marvelous history of the African-American experience. Equally compelling are his portraits: faces etched with hardship, yet glistening with determination. Balzer + Bray, $19.99, ages 9 and up, 108 pages.

Sammy in the Sky. A girl reflects on all the things she loved about her late dog Sammy, then celebrates his life by blowing bubbles into the sky. As the bubbles float up on a breeze, a cloud that looks like Sammy seems to bound across the sky after them. "I love you, Sammy!" she yells to the cloud. "You're still the best hound dog in the whole wide world." A beautiful, reassuring story about coping with a lost pet. By Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara Walsh, paintings by Jamie Wyeth, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 4-7, 32pages.

The Green Mother Goose, Saving the World One Rhyme at a Time. Mother Goose favorites are repurposed into catchy green rhymes, in this clever book of whimsical poetry and collages. On one page, Jack Be Nimble turns off the tap; on another, readers chant, "One, Two, We Can Renew." By Jan Peck & David Davis, illustrated by Carin Berger. Sterling, $14.95, ages 4-8, 32 pages.

The Art of Disney Epic Mickey. The creators of the groundbreaking 2010 video game Disney Epic Mickey explore how it came to be, in this lush coffee table book filled with concept art, designs and in-depth analysis of the game. By Austin Grossman, with a foreward by Warren Spector. Disney Editions, $40, all ages, 160 pages.

Tallulah's Tutu. A little girl thinks she can become a great ballerina in just a few classes, but when she doesn't earn her tutu as soon as she'd like, she gives up trying. But will her love of dance call her back to class? By Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Alexandra Boiger, Clarion, $16.99, ages 4 and up, 40 pages.

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes. Beatrice thrives on being perfect until one day she makes a very public mistake, and discovers that it's okay to let go and laugh at herself. By Mark Pett & Gary Rubinstein, illustrated by Mark Pett. Sourcebooks, $14.99, ages 4 and up, 32 pages.

Slightly Invisible, Featuring Charlie and Lola. Charlie and Marv have made an invisibility potion to look for sneaky creatures, and don't want to be bothered by Lola. Only now Lola's friend Soren Lorensen has gulped down most of the potion. Will they need Lola's help after all? Written and illustrated by Lauren Child, Candlewick, $16.99, ages 3 and up, 40 pages.

Tumford the Terrible. Tumford the cat is always getting into mischief and though he feels bad about it, he can't get himself to apologize for his mistakes. Then one day at the fair, Tumford gets into the worst trouble yet and discovers the wondrous effect of saying he's sorry. Written & illustrated by Nancy Tillman. Feiwel & Friends, $16.99, ages 3 and up, 32 pages.

My Name is MinaAnd I Love The Night. Anything Seems Possible At Night When The Rest of The World Has Gone to Sleep. Mina McKee, the quirky, endearing neighbor girl from David Almond's highly acclaimed 2008 debut Skellig, journals about herself and the world around her in this lyrical, intimate prequel. By David Almond. Delacorte Press, $15.99, 272 pages. Read an early review from The Guardian here.

Liesl & Poe: Locked away in the attic with only a sketchbook to keep her company, a lonely girl named Liesl looks to a ghost to help her escape from her cruel stepmother and lay her father's ashes to rest. Little does she know the box containing his ashes has been mixed up with one containing the greatest magic ever known. A tender, beautiful novel by bestselling adult author Lauren Oliver. HarperCollins, $16.99, ages 8-12, 320 pages.

The Apothecary: Janie and Benjamin discover elixirs they never imagined could exist, as they embark on a dangerous quest to save Benjamin's father, a London apothecary, and prevent nuclear disaster. From award-winning adult author Maile Meloy comes a sparkling children's debut in which the extraordinary becomes possible. G. P. Putnam's Sons, $16.99, ages 9 and up, 365 pages.

The Son of Neptune: In a camp miles away from where demigods Jason, Piper and Leo inherited a quest to rescue Hera, queen of the gods, a new camper has arrived who appears to be the son of Neptune, god of the sea, in this much-anticipated second book in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus. The story, the second of five, is told alternately by Percy, Frank and Hazel, and takes place about two months after the first book, The Lost Hero. Disney-Hyperion, $19.99, ages 9-12, 544 pages

2002 Classic Returns!

Paul O. Zelinsky's fantastic movable tribute to the nonsense song "This Old Man" will be reissued Sept. 29 with new cover art! Dutton, $20.99, ages 2-7, 8 pages. Read Zelinsky's essay on the making of this amazing book of flaps, tabs and wheels here.

If in Amherst, Mass...

Stop by The Eric Carle Museum, a magical place that showcases picture book art from around the world. The latest exhibition (June 18-Oct 9): the work of author-illustrator Tomi Ungerer, "Chronicler of the Absurd." Among his acclaimed picture books, The Mellops Go Flying (1957), The Three Robbers (1962), Flat Stanley (1964) and Moon Man (1967).

For Little Hands

In Memory of Diana Wynne Jones

The beloved author of Howl's Moving Castle and the Chrestomanci series passed away March 26 in Bristol, England, after a long struggle with cancer. She was 76. Jones will be sorely missed. Read Neil Gaiman's tribute here.

Free App!

Ever roam a bookstore, wondering how you'll pick from all of the children's titles? Download bestselling author James Patterson's free Kids' Book Finder Apphere to help sort through all of the options.

Publisher Giveaways and Offers!

Awesome Adventure! Sweepstakes: Become an Awesome Adventure member at HarperCollins to play free games and be entered for weekly giveaways. Every time you complete a game as a registered member, you'll be automatically entered for a book prize and, in some cases, an IPod Touch or $50 Best Buy gift card as well. Among the books being given away, The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney, Seekers #1: The Quest Begins by Erin Hunter and Freddy! King of Flurb by Peter Hannan. For more details, click here.STACKS Book Club: Sign up here to receive emails from Scholastic's children's book club, STACKS, and be the first to know about Scholastic's newest books, celebrity videos, widgets and games. Those who sign up will also be eligible to win monthly sweepstakes.